Apparatus for cleaning cellular radiators



March 9, 1937. E. B. CLIMENHAGA APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CELLULARRADIATORS Filed Jan. 18, 1935 m a m M f a. PM m Patented Mar. 9, 1937'UNITED STATES APPARATUS ErnestB.

ron' enema autumn mms'rons StcvensvIlle, Ontario, tnring Canada,assignor to Fedders Mannf Company, Inc., Buffalo, N. Y.

Application January 18, 1935, Serial No. 2,405

4 Claims. (01. 141-1)- This invention relates to apparatus for cleaningor washing cellular radiators or like articles, and it has particularreference to apparatus in which, by means of a conveying system, suchar- 5 ticles are dipped into one or more baths of cleaning or washingliquid and are delivered in a cleansed and substantiallydry conditidfifAn automobile radiator, irrespective of its particular structuraldetails, invariably comprises a core section provided with a pluralityof longitudinal passages for the flow of water, and a number oftransverse passages for the flow of air around the water lines. Suchcores are made by assembly of suitable sheets of metal, solderedtogether, and, during the course of manufacture, the metal, both on theinterior and exterlor of the water passages, becomes dirty, and must becleaned before the article can be suitably finished. Heretofore, thecleaning of these go cores has been effected by simple immersion in acleaning bath, and by blowing steam ufider the rails l3, areone-ormoretanksikltc, and I1, adapted to receive the cores as they aretransported from one end of the frame to the other.

The means for effecting such movement of the cores is shown .inthedrawing as a pair of 5 continuous conveyor chains l8 which aremountsired to have the chains carry the cores in such fashion that theywill be successively dipped into the tanks l8, Ito, and I1, movedthrough the 10 tanks while more or less submerged, andthen lifted fromthe tanks. For this purpose, a number of sprockets are used, located atvarious points on the side rails II, M, and I5, as shown best in Fig. 1.I 15 Viewing first the left hand portion of Fig. 1, it will be notedthat the chains I8 move over' sprockets 2| mounted on the upper railsII, and are directed downwardly by sprockets 22 disposed at a low pointon the uprights It, so that the carrying baskets (subsequentlydescribed) for pressure over the face of the core, but it has beer?fie/00185939 bl'dught'into anposltlonrwheresmey found that suchexpedients are not only expensive and involve more or less confusion inthe 25 production line, but that they have also failed to produce anarticle as clean as desired. 7 In order to improve on these practices,the present invention therefore proposes a machine adapted to receivesuch cores and to convey them, with intermittent shaking to removedislodged dirt, through a cleaning bath, and ultimately to deliver themin a cleansed condition and fairly free of cleaning liquid.

The several and conjoint features and advantages of the invention willbe readily apparent from a perusal of the following description of atypical machine, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a side view, essentially in longitudinal section, of themachine;

- Fig. 2 is a tranverse sectlontaken on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Flg.3isafragmentaryview,partlyinplan and partly in section, and on anenlarged scale, of the right hand portion of the machine as seen in Fig.1; and, r Fig. 4 is aperspective of acore basket. The frame of themachine comprises a number of upright or vertical members IQ, II, and

I2, disposedinspacedpairaasshownin rigs. 1,2, and 3, to which areconnected 9. series of longitudinal rails ll, ll, and Ii, disposed inspaced relation-and one above the other.Dissoposedbetweentheuprightmemberaandbclow may be quickly loaded. Bymeans of sprocket? 23, mounted toward the right and on the rails l4, thechains it are brought to a point just 25 above .the left hand side ofthe tank It, and they are then constrained to move downward by thesucceeding sprockets 2|, mounted just above the tank I6 and on the lowerrails l3. It will beapparent, therefore, that anything suspended 30 fromthe chains will be plunged into the bath in the tank ll, Thus, in thecase of a vertically suspended radiator core, the initial plunge willcause the cleaning solution to rush up through e'd on the frame bysuitablc sprocketsf It 1335- the water es to clean and flush the same.35

The next pair of sprockets 25 are mounted on the rails ll above theopposite side of the tank It, so that, after the core is-immersed,further motion of the chains it conveys the core longi- .tudinallythrough the-bath, thus cleansing the 40 transverse openings. The chainsthen move upwardly by provision of the next pair of sprockets 23a,mounted on the rails ll, in a manner quite similar to the sprockets 23.By noting the relative positions of the tanks II and "a, and thesprockets 23a, 24a, 25a, and 23b, itwill at once be apparent withoutfurther written description that the movement of the chain over the tanka, and, for that matter, over thetank II, is substantially a repetitionof the motion just described. Thus, as shown in-the drawing, the coresare-washed vely in about the-same fashionineachoi thethreetanks, allofwhich may contain wash lutionaasdesired.

water, or various cleaning so- 20 i tween "them a -plurality of baskets35, each After passing over the sprockets 230 at the discharge side ofthe tank [1, the chains I! are directed downward and to the right handedge of the frame by sprockets 25, mounted at a low point on theuprights l2, and then up along the uprights l2 by driving sprockets 21,mounted between the top rails l5.- From this point, the chains extend tothe sprockets 2|, thus completing the circuit. The operating power forthe chains is obtained from a motor 23 mounted on a suitable supportsecured to a rail l4 and operating a speed reducing gear unit 3| througha drive belt 29. It will be understood that the sprockets 21 are securedto the driven shaft 32 of the unit 3|, as best shown in Fig. 3, and,since this type of drive is well known in the 'art, it is deemedunnecessary to discuss or illustrate it further.

From what has been suggested above, it will be understood that thechains", as they move over the several sprockets in unison, carrybeadapted to receive a core 35. As best shown in Fig. 4, each basketcomprises a pair of spaced side members 31 formed with journals 38 attheir upper ends for the reception of bearing pins 39 secured to thechains 18, so that the baskets 35 hang 'down'froni "the chains Fahd mayhave a swinging movement. The arms 31 are bridged at their lowerextremities by a perforate base 4|, and at intermediate pointsby anumber of spaced rails or rollers 42, so that, while a core may beinserted into or removed form the open top of the basket, it isotherwise retained therein, while the washing solution flows through thebasket readily.

It will also be noted that the distance between the rails l3 and I4 issuch that, upon the vertical lift of the basket 35 from the tank ID tothe tank 16a, or from tank lid to tank H, the basket is removed entirelyfrom and is suspended above the tank, thereby permitting the cleaningsolution to drain optand run back intodts own tank.

The mode of inserting a core into an empty basket will now be apparentfrom a consideration of the left hand portion of Fig. 1. As the emptybasket 35 is delivered by the chains l3 moving toward the sprockets 22,the workman simply drops the core 36 into the basket, the top of whichis accessibly located. In order to direct the basket 35 into the firsttank, and to prevent the basket from striking the outer wall of the tankIS, a guide rail 44 is provided under the inclined portion of thechains, l8, being amxed to the horizontal rail l3 by a plate 45. Theloaded basket is thus lifted for admission into the tank [6 without thenecessity of using an additional sprocket and a greater length of chain.

Adjacent the discharge end of each tank is a series of steps 41, thepurpose of which is to shake the basket and its contained core toextract therefrom as much fluid as possible, before the core is immersedin the next tank. As noted previously, by lifting the core upwardly fromthe tank, a substantial amount of the contained' liquid drains back atonce into its own tank, thus preventing the undue contamination of theliquid in one tank by that in the preceding tank. However, too long atime interval would be required to complete such-simple drainage,leading to a low efficiency of the system, and the steps 41 aretherefore provided to'extract the contained liquid more effectively.

It will be observed that the. basket 35 strikes the steps 41 as itreaches the end of the horizontal travel, and while it is moving in aver-' tical direction. These steps slightly retard the lower end of thebasket, while the upper end is moving with the chains l8, and, as thebottom 4| clears the step, the basket. swings against the next step,thus jarring and shaking the core to dislodge the liquid and loose dirtentrained therein.

As a result of this action, taking place as the core leaves the tank,there is but asmall transfer of the liquid in one tank to the next, andthe cores are admitted into each tank in proper condition for treatment.

Referring now to the right hand side of the apparatus, there will beobserved a series of steps 48, mounted above the end wall of the tankI], and on an inclined deck 49. The relation between these steps, thesprockets 230, and the inclined portion of the chains l8 betweensprockets 23c and 26, is such that the swinging baskets 35 arematerially retarded at their bottom portions, thus causing the basketsto lie at an angle and be bumped a number of times as they move over thesteps 48. While the bumping caused by the steps 41 is sufficient toremove most of the cleaning liquid and prevent the contamination of one'bath bythacontents of the preceding bath, a

more vigorous action is desired as the cores leave the apparatus.Accordingly, the foregoing arrangement is provided, to remove as muchliquid as is possible by such mechanical means. Liquid collecting on theinclined deck 49 flows back into the tank I! by gravity.

The deck 49 merges into a deck 5| disposed at a reverse angle, whichcauses a further drag on the bottom of the basket 35, and raises thebottom above the mounting portions. Thus, as shown in Fig. 1, as eachbasket approaches the extreme right hand portion of the frame, it isinverted to a suflicient degree to permit the cores to slide outfreelyover the smooth rails 42.

Aybeltficgnveyormay be disposed beneath the discharge end of theapparatus just described, .to remove the cores from the vicinity of themachine. As shown in Fig. 1, such belt conveyor may consist of a framemember 53, mounted under the deck 5|, for the reception of a pulley 54,over. which passes an endless belt 55, supported at its mid portions byidlers 55. The cores 36 accordingly slide out of the baskets 35 onto thebelt 55, and are removed in a substantially dry and clean condition. a

It will be noted that at all points except at the driving shaft 32 thereis full clearance between the chains It, so that the baskets may hangdown to the extent permitted by the steps disposed beneath at certainpoints. When the emptied baskets return to the input side of themachine, however, it is necessary to provide some means to carry themclear of the drive shaft 32. For this purpose, there is provided a pairof tracks 58, formed from angles to provide side guiding flanges,mounted over the drive shaft, as indicated by the numeral 59, andextending downwardly at an angle, as shown in -Figs. 1 and 3. Thesemembers may be secured to the rails l5 by suitable straps 6|, which, atthis point, involve no interference with the remaining mechanisms. Asthe chains l8 and attached baskets move upward, therefore, the bottomsof the baskets are retarded by the ends 59 of the tracks, and finallyare lifted and guided thereover. On a continuation'of the movement, thebottoms of the baskets are gradually dropped.

When clearance has been obtained, however, the

bottoms iii are released by the lower ends of the tracks 58, thusallowing the baskets to swing [to their normal vertical position.

a As best shown in Fig. 3, a pair of rails 64 and 65 drive means for arefixed between the rails i4 and IE, to carry a cross plate 65, to theinner face of which is tastened a hinge B1. The inner part of the hingeis secured to an angularly disposed gate 68,

which is normally extended a limited distance by a spring 69,surrounding a headed bolt H extending from the cross'member 66 to thegate 68. By this arrangement, the innermost edges of the gates 68 arenormally disposed in the line of travel of the baskets 35, and catch theedges of the baskets as they swing free from the guides 58. The gates 68at once move toward the rails 64 and 65 under the impact of the baskets,thus permitting them to pass, but only after their swinging tendency hasbeen reduced.- Subsequent swinging movement in the opposite direction isprevented by the engagement of the baskets with the left hand edge ofthe gate 68. From the foregoing description, it will be understood thatthe invention provides an improved and highly effective apparatus fortransporting cores or like articles through a number of treating baths,and delivering such cores with a minimum of liquid adhering thereto.It'will also be understood that while the invention has been describedwith reference to one example only, those skilled in the art may resortto various modifications and adaptations, all of which are intended tobe comprehended as defined by the following claims. v

I claim: 1. In a machine for washing cores, a frame, an endless conveyormounted on said frame,

baskets suspended from said conveyor for free conveyor and positioned topermit successive immersion of the baskets therein, a plurality of stepssecured adjacent one extremity of the tank,

said steps being positioned in the path of the free extremities of thebaskets as they emerge from the tank and adapted to be impactedsuccessively by said ends of the baskets.

2. In a machine for washing radiator cores, 8. frame having spacedhorizontal rail members,

a pluralityv of tanks disposed below said rail members, sprocketsdisposed at varying elevations on said rail members, conveyor chainsextending over said sprockets, drive means for said the conveyor,core-receiving thereof.

chains, baskets swingingly mounted between said chains, the relation ofsaid sprockets and rail members being such'with respect to each otherand said tanks-as to cause a basket mounted on said chains to be plungedinto each tank at one end thereof, drawn longitudinally through saidtank, and then elevated from said tank in a substantially verticaldirection for immersion in a following tank, and step means disposedadjacent the emergent side of each tank adapted to be contacted by thelowermost portion or said basket, whereby said basket and contents willbe shaken free fromsubstantial quantities of adhering material acquiredin said tank by intermittent retardation of the motion of the lowerportion of the basket only.

3. In a machine for washing radiator cores, a frame comprising spacedrail members,

sprockets mounted on said rail members, conveyor chains mounted on saidsprocketsdrive means therefor, a tank below said rails,'carrier basketsmounted for swinging movement between said chains, said sprockets beingso disposed with respect to said tank as to direct said basketsdownwardly into and through said tank as the chains are moved, othersprockets for directing the upper ends of said baskets to a low pointwith respect to the top of said tank beyond the discharge end of thetank, and step means at the discharge endof the tank to retard andelevate the bottom of the basket with respect to the top thereof as theupper end of said basket is moved toward said lowpoint, whereby saidbasket will be upset and its contents discharged.

4. In a" machine for washing radiator cores, pairs of spaced railsdefining a frame, sprockets on said frame, endless conveyor chainsmounted on said sprockets, drive means therefor, a' tank beneath theframe and between said rails, swinging baskets mounted between saidchains, said sprockets being so located on said frame as to causesuccessively the vertical immersion, hori- .zontal movement, and upwardremoval of a swinging movement, a tank disposed below the basket withrespect to said tan-k asv the chains portion of the basket as the sameis removed from the tank to cause a bumping thereof, whereby substantialquantities of adhering liquid from the tank willbe .dislodg'ed forgravity return to said tank, and other step means above the top of thetank adjacent the discharge side thereof in the path .of the basket toengage and upset the basket to discharge the contents ERNEST B.QLIMENHAGA.

